005
Lu Tian and Meng Jingdong sat in the back seat, in an extremely well-behaved posture. There was originally a faint scent of men’s cologne in the car, but she had sprayed perfume before going out. After getting in the car, the light scent of plum gradually dispelled the cologne, silently occupying the space. Why did she spray perfume when she didn’t have anything to do?
She glanced at Meng Jingdong, who was sitting upright. His long legs were crossed, the muscles faintly visible under his clothes. His hands were placed flat on his legs, his nails neatly trimmed. Only half of his upper body was visible, a suit matching his trousers, the clothes without any obvious wrinkles, appearing tasteful. He didn’t make a sound, but his strong presence was undeniable.
The driver was probably the chauffeur. Song, the only familiar assistant, wasn’t in the car. Lu Tian squeezed her sweaty palms, secretly warning herself not to be so cowardly; being shameless was the way to go.
The car gradually drove into the city. There was a traffic jam on the overpass due to an accident, moving only a few dozen meters in a long time. The driver remained calm, and Meng Jingdong didn’t urge him. Lu Tian gained a new level of understanding of their composure. Because of her heart condition, she was very patient and didn’t ask any questions, mostly looking ahead, occasionally checking her phone messages.
Lu Tian, diligently acting like a well-behaved girl, didn’t know that Meng Jingdong had looked at her in surprise. In his impression, Lu Tian was impatient and only cared about money. They were strangers, only because of their families’ business relationship. At Lu Tian’s stepfather Zou Rui’s invitation, he attended Lu Tian’s 21st birthday party, drank a glass of wine she had poured for him, and became unconscious. When he woke up, they were sleeping in the same suite, Lu Tian crying and yelling for him to take responsibility.
Their families’ business relationship had just been established. He had agreed to think about it because of certain circumstances and nodded in agreement the next day. Then he was asked by Lu Tian to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage license.
Now, they were in an absurd marital relationship.
The car drove into a high-end residential area, passing by rows of townhouses. The original owner had no memory of this place. Lu Tian finally couldn’t help but ask a question.
“Where are you taking me?”
She waited for thirty seconds, receiving no reply. She turned to look at Meng Jingdong. This look startled her. His dark eyes were filled with undisguised questioning and appraisal. Under her gaze, he didn’t look away, calmly saying, “To meet my parents.”
“What?”
“We haven’t seen my parents since we got our marriage license. They just found out about you and want to meet you.”
Lu Tian blurted out: “You didn’t tell your parents about the marriage license?”
“I can make my own decisions.”
“Then how should I address your parents?”
Meng Jingdong looked at her with surprise again, sarcastically saying: “Don’t you want to call them Dad and Mom? Then why did you get married to me?”
“I understand.” Lu Tian didn’t back down. It wasn’t like she had never called them Dad and Mom before.
Meng Jingdong’s parents’ home was a standalone villa, covering a large area. The Chinese-style design had a homely feel, but Lu Tian knew that the price of the villa was astonishing. The Meng family was wealthy; this villa was just a small fraction of their assets.
After the Mercedes drove into the garage, Lu Tian proactively got out of the car, secretly adjusting her dress. She knew she shouldn’t have worn the denim skirt to meet Meng Jingdong’s parents; it made her look too childish. She didn’t know what his parents would think.
The driver carried the gifts from the back seat. Meng Jingdong turned to look at her, and Lu Tian, understanding, walked over and took his arm, walking forward with him at a leisurely pace.
Meng Jingdong’s parents had just returned from abroad. They had been informed by their son about his wife while they were abroad and were both dressed formally for their first meeting.
“Dad, Mom, I’ve brought Lu Tian to see you.” Meng Jingdong introduced them with a smile.
Lu Tian followed closely behind, smiling sweetly: “Dad, Mom, hello. I’m so sorry for getting married to Jingdong without meeting you first.”
The polite smile on Meng’s mother’s face became more genuine. She said with a smile, “We’re family now, no need to be so polite. Come, sit down.”
Meng’s father’s smile was similar to Meng Jingdong’s, making it hard to read his emotions. Lu Tian didn’t mind. She had offended Meng Jingdong already, let alone his parents. It was like having so many lice that she didn’t care anymore.
Lu Tian answered politely to their questioning, her manners impeccable at lunch, showing good upbringing, making it impossible to find fault with her.
After lunch, Meng’s mother was five-tenths satisfied, saying to Meng’s father, “She’s a good child. Jingdong is thirty and wouldn’t get married, and then suddenly found a young girl. I was quite worried, but now it’s fine!”
Meng’s father didn’t think so, mysteriously saying: “Wait until they’re willing to give you a grandchild, then you can be happy.”
“Hey, Lao Meng, what kind of thinking is that? I’m not rushing them to have children!” Meng’s mother was keeping up with the times, knowing that young people didn’t like being pressured to get married, and certainly didn’t want to be a nagging mother-in-law. It was best if everyone lived in peace.
Meng’s father laughed, scolded by his wife, and then urged: “Aren’t we going to the hospital to see Lao Lu? Let’s go quickly.”
“Okay, okay.” Meng’s mother changed into her going-out clothes, picked up her handbag, went downstairs, and explained to Lu Tian, who said she understood perfectly.
Meng’s father and mother left quickly, leaving the two of them at home. As soon as they left, Lu Tian subconsciously moved ten centimeters away from Meng Jingdong, proactively asking, “Is there anything else you wanted me to do today?”
Meng Jingdong was surprised this time. He was still hesitating whether to say it, but it was better that she asked first.
“It’s like this, a close relative of mine has leukemia, and I want those close to me to do a bone marrow match. He heard that I got married and has been wanting to meet you, so we’ll do a match together. Is that okay?”
Lu Tian agreed without hesitation. But hadn’t Meng’s father and mother just gone to the hospital? Why didn’t Meng Jingdong go with them?
“Are you sure? If it matches, the process will be quite painful.” Meng Jingdong felt something was strange and subconsciously asked again.
“This is a good thing, why wouldn’t I be sure? And I just had a full check-up, my body is healthy and has no abnormalities.” If a bone marrow match could really help someone, it would be a very happy thing, but she had never received a healthy heart even in her despair.
“Okay, thank you.”
Meng Jingdong picked up his suit jacket: “I’ll take you back to school. I’ll let you know the specific time, and I’ll pick you up then.”
Lu Tian agreed. When she got back to school and got out of Meng Jingdong’s car, she was surprised to find that she was actually immune to Meng Jingdong’s aura under the highly tense situation.
As she walked back to campus, she felt… elated? Meng Jingdong closed the car window and drove away expressionlessly.
—
On the weekend, Lu Tian was called home by Tian Jing. After Grandma Gu called her, she immediately told Tian Jing, who had already contacted Grandma Gu to do the paternity test, and the results should be out now.
She returned to the Zou family and found that only she was missing. Her stepfather Zou Rui smiled before he spoke: “Lu Tian is back.”
Because he valued and loved Tian Jing, Zou Rui loved Lu Tian as well, and outwardly, he treated her no differently from his own son, sometimes even favoring her.
“Uncle.” Lu Tian proactively addressed him, put down her bag, took the juice Zou Rui gave her, took a sip, and sat down next to Tian Jing. There were a few pages on the coffee table; they were the paternity test report.
Tian Jing pushed it over: “Take a look.”
The paternity test report from the agency hired by Grandma Gu, with a probability of over 99%, confirmed that Tian Jing was Grandma Gu’s biological daughter. Lu Tian sighed for Tian Jing; a small action had changed the course of her forty years of life.
“What did the Gu family say?”
Tian Jing rubbed her temples: “They want us to meet for dinner tomorrow night, at their house.”
“Mom, you decide.” Things had come to this, so they should listen to Tian Jing. The original owner’s actions had one advantage; it allowed their family to confidently refuse the bloodsucking leech that was Mrs. Tian.
“I’ve prepared some clothes for you; go to your room and pick some out.” Tian Jing said with relief, whose daughter had the biggest impact on her.
That is, before the age of thirty, because of her origins, she was abused by her adoptive mother, became self-reliant, separated from the person she loved, and then raised her daughter alone.
If she had known the truth at twenty, she would have been happy and relieved. At thirty, knowing the truth, she would have felt resentment. Now, she was unfazed. Maintaining a neither-too-close-nor-too-far relationship with the Gu family would benefit her current family, which was the most realistic approach.
Lu Tian took her little brother Zou Fan upstairs. Zou Rui only then sat next to his wife, sighing, “Lu Tian seems to have grown up overnight.”
“Yes, it’s much better that she’s not foolish anymore.”
Zou Fan was precocious. He actually liked all the small dresses. Lu Tian picked out the selected clothes and then unceremoniously sent him downstairs. He hopped down and sat between his parents.
“Mom and Dad, my sister likes me now, and I like her too.”
Tian Jing rubbed her son’s head and exchanged a smile with Zou Fan, both feeling relieved.
The Gu family’s house was in the suburbs, with good air suitable for retirement. The Gu couple usually lived there. On weekends, their grandchildren would come over, and it was always lively. Early that day, a row of cars parked near the Gu family’s home. They were all close relatives of the Gu family, gathered together for the first time without a holiday, festival, or birthday.
Grandma Gu had three sons and one daughter. Her three sons were successful, and their children were also outstanding. Five tall grandsons stood in a row, waiting to welcome their new aunt.
“How many people are in the new aunt’s family?” Gu Yi, the eldest, was busy with his work and seemed to know nothing about the new aunt’s family situation.
“Four, one son and one daughter. The daughter is the same age as Xuanxuan, and she’s the one who revealed the aunt’s identity at Xuanxuan’s engagement ceremony,” Gu Er said casually.
“Heh, this girl is quite scheming,” Gu San, Gu Shan, scoffed.
Gu Si hinted, “Grandma feels sorry for her. Don’t make any trouble for now. It’s not the time to vent your anger for Xuanxuan.”
Gu Wu nodded: “Understood. Let’s see what kind of person she is first.”
As evening approached, a long Lincoln slowly arrived. The five Gu brothers exchanged a meaningful look and prepared to go forward.
Zou Rui, however, beat them to it, waiting outside to help his wife get out. Tian Jing, in her forties, was well-maintained, with delicate and fair skin showing almost no wrinkles. She wore a dark blue cheongsam, her figure graceful, even more elegant than Gu Yalan, whom Grandma Gu had meticulously raised for over forty years.
The second person to get out was a girl in a red pleated skirt, with snow-white skin and long flowing hair. The red didn’t look vulgar on her; instead, it made her look strikingly beautiful. Unlike Yu Ningxuan’s spoiled air, this girl was like a blooming peony.
Finally, a boy in a suit of the same color as his father came out. He had big eyes and a high nose bridge, very similar to Zou Rui.
Gu Yi, as the eldest, was the first to greet them: “Aunt, hello.”
Author’s Note:
Are the names of the five Gu brothers easy to remember? The next update will be at 8 pm.